Beer: Reviews & Ratings

Reviews by tar:

4/5 rDev +11.1%look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

One of several NC beers brought to me by a friend. Pours a transparent amber with a small, whitish head. The head vanishes to nothing more than a hint of sticky lacing on the glass rather quickly. Smells strongly of hops, with strong citrus, floral, and earthy aromas. Sweet malty scents are present as well. A very good smelling beer--I can't wait to taste it. Hop flavors dominate with some subdued sweetness of malt present as well. Finishes with some nice hop bitterness. Easy drinking and overall quite a good beer, when I get the chance to have this again, I definitely will. (581 characters)

More User Reviews:

Nice copper color and poured with nice foamy head,smelled like a traditional IPA very grassy and floral.Very hoppy to be expected and even a little zesty like a Pacific Northwest style.A well made brew,I have liked all the ales I have tried from Cottonwood. (257 characters)

S: Earthy hop smell is prominent on the nose with a smell something like alfalfa. There's something else there too... something sweet, sort of like brown sugar.

T: Hoppy bitterness rides a light wave of moderate maltiness. The flavors blend well and stay together, creating a decent combination but I don't know that I would call it balance.

M&D: Mouthfeel is a solid medium body and quite satisfying. The interesting sort of yeasty flavors under the hops & malt make this a little different than other IPAs. I have to say that I just didn't get that fresh kick that I do from others. Depending on your tastes, you may find this one enjoyable. (771 characters)

Tan/copper color, thin head, and plenty of visible schtuff floating around - cloudy, almost like a not-quite-settled cask brew. Who cares what it looks like when it smells like this, though - a fresh, hoppy/sweet nose with boatloads of citric, resiny hops.

That nose doesn't disappoint, either - while there's a decent maltiness in the background, the flavor is dominated by citric, piney (not sprucey) hops all over the palate, with a good firm bitterness. Slightly thin in body, but eminently quaffable. I noticed a slight astringency in the finish, at the same time as a hit of sweetness arrived. Odd, but it works. (621 characters)

It looks like muddy water. Put another way, it looks more like a brown or a red than the IPAs of which I've become so fond. I expected more of a golden bronze. Nice carbonation and the heady top has staying power, but the lacing is lacking--within seconds, it disappears.

The smell is more caramel malts than anything else. Again, this brew seems crazily uncharacteristic of the style. There is a burnt, biscuity quality characteristic of an amber like Fat Tire. When hoppy yumminess is among the favorite of flavors to flirt with my nasal passages, this nose is just short of awful.

Irrespective of style, the taste is okay. In context of my heavily sought after IPAs, this beer falls WAY short. It's biscuits and toasted almonds and--even as I try to get seasonal as I set up the Christmas tree and gear up for the holidays--overly spicy. There's a pepperness there that's just absolutely inappropriate for an American IPA. Though I've slowly learned to analyze beers in reference to their styles, I quickly offer that this beer here is inappropriately classified. An okay amber, perhaps, but this is an unimpressive IPA.

It's an underhopped IPA. If it's a malted taste I want, it's not an American IPA I'll grab from the grocer shelves. Is there something in the "Endo" part of the name that I'm failing to identify and consider? I actually thought I'd embrace the endo quality of anything.... For the India Pale Ale this purports to be, the mouthfeel is nothing short of awful.

As I finish this one, I'm disappointed I have five more. I saw the Bros. thought highly of this one, so perhaps that'll help me rationalize throwing this one in as an extra or something. I drink more IPAs than anything, and I'd just as soon never again sip on this hometown honor. Kind of cliche around these parts, but the Bros. don't like criticism without suggestion: add more hops! (1,871 characters)

Drinkability & Notes: Im always hard on IPAs, especially ones that are less than 6.0% abv. There has to be that balance yet the hops have to hit hard both in flavor and bitterness and this particular IPA does just that. (815 characters)

This North Carolina IPA pours a clear bronze body, with a very attractive beige head that is constructed of minute bubbles and rises about an inch above the body. The head lasts several minutes, and quite a bit of patchy lace is deposited all over the glass.

Aroma begins with a strong toffee and caramel presence, but the hops quickly assert with pine cone and lemon and grapefruit citrus.

Light bodied in the mouth, with moderate carbonation and a mild hops bite. Much thinner than expected given the assertive aromas.

Taste is a robust battle between the toffee and caramel maltiness, and a multple array of hops flavors. Citrusy orange and lemon, with a hint of pine lend a nice bitterness to offset the assertive malt character. A very intersting ale to sip and enjoy. This tastes like a hybrid ESB/IPA, at times, and finishes clean and dry, with a green apple aftertaste. Very tasty IPA.

I had never heard of this brewery until I saw this in a grocery in Kingsport, Tennessee, where mtnlover directed me in my quest to find some brews from Asheville's Highland Brewery. This IPA from the Piedmont area of North Carolina, is actually better than the Highland Brewery's offerings I found. This Endo is one of the better southeastern IPAs I've had, and is very enjoyable all around. I'll be picking up several of these Endo's on my next trip to Kingsport. (1,370 characters)

Quite dry and bitter. A nice balance of hops and malt. The bitterness is more than welcome and sticks around on the palate well after it's gone down the shute.

Tonight is somewhat of a preperation for the 2nd Annual Hophead Throwdown. I've been on a malt kick of late and needed to reprogram my tastebuds so they do not shut down from the hops. This beer is a great example of it's class and well worth trying if you can get your hands on it. (571 characters)

Many thanks to AlexJ for this very special offering.
Pours a hazy copper color with an almost full finger of off-white head. Lacing is thin, yet has some hold...a real nice color to my "atypical" IPA.
I always enjoy sweet malt hitting the nose first and this is exactly what happens here...a nice dose of hops as well to make you realize this is no pale ale.
The taste is more bitter than sweet, which is something I learn to expect and appreciate. Subtle spiced hops in the flavor w/ some citrus as well.
Mouthfeel is medium bodied...carbonation could be a tad less.
Nothing stopping this one from being a session brew...very clean and refreshing. I am certainly glad to have the chance to obtain this one direct from the source...thanks again AJ. (753 characters)

Presentation: 12oz. amber bottle with an apparently non-utilized "best before" section on the side of the bottle.

Appearance: Poured a somewhat cloudy copper color. Just a slight off-white head and sparse lacing of the glass.

Smell: Good aroma of pine tress and grapefruit.

Taste: For me, this is where the beer began to fade. At first, the flavorful hoppy bitternes was a welcome presence on the palate. There was a small yet noticeable creamy smoothness present as well. It was the finish that really turned me off. I just kept tasting a...how to describe it..."grainy" (which to me tasted like a macro) finish that really left a sour note on an otherwise decent offering.

Mouthfeel: Surprisingly smooth and creamy. Not oily or even very crisp.

Drinkability: Other than the unsettling aftertaste, a pretty tolerable beer. However, not one that I'd have again. (877 characters)

Appears a slightly hazed copper bronze hue with a large off white head leaves big chunky lacing on the sides of my imperial pint glass after dwindling down. Aroma a bit of skunk weed, raucous grapefruit with floral and pine scents. A trace of caramel malts in the nose but mainly hops. Then comes the flavor nothing like the hop aroma, a weird astringent flavor pure mess of dirt like tasting hops and acidic qualities. Really rough not even much sweetness just muffled hop bitterness, shitty IPA that gives the style a bad name. Mouthfeel is thin and overcarbonated to boot, really terrible flavor sticks on the palate for way too long. Drinkability drink another maybe if I lose a bet, I will be sure to stay away from this brew. BTW, I have the nut brown ale as well and I'm not looking forward to that one either. (817 characters)

Pours a deep copper color with a rocky one-finger, off-white head. The head dissipates into a patchy layer on top leaving decent lacing.

Smells of a combination of pale and caramel malts with very faint citrus hop aromas. There's also an even fainter hint of pine hops.

Tastes alright. Again, the combination of pale and caramel malts leads things off, but then only fruits that bare a slight resemblance to citrus come in. None of the aforementioned flavors are very large.

Mouthfeel is alright. It's slightly on the thin side but the moderate carbonation makes it go down smoothly.

Drinkability is alright. I didn't have a huge problem finishing mine, but it did take longer than usual - not because this beer is bad but more because there wasn't anything very good about it.

Overall this isn't a terrible beer, but it's certainly not one to seek out. I would consider trying this on-tap if I saw it just to see how fresh my bottle was. (992 characters)

I really like the color of this, which is only enhanced by the thick-even haze. This almost looks like apple cider with some cranberry juice or something in it...beerafied. Head is a light cream color, has decent retention and leaves spotty lace around the glass. Nose is rather buttery, and caramel malty. Flavor and aroma hops are not at the forfront in this IPA but taste has a strong, refreshing bitterness and a little dryness. Hops are citrusy, piney, and a bit floral. There is some kind of balance here, but it seems slightly askew. I had this on tap recently and found it better than in the bottle. Body is good and drinkability is pretty easy.

Pours a thick creamy head that takes its time settling in. Carbonation is ample (as always with this brewery) and the color is copper/rust. Good bit of lace too.

Aroma gives off citrusy hops with solid malt backup. A little more caramel-y than many IPAs.

Big juicy hops are assertive, but not overly so. The malt backbone in the smell shows up big and robust in the flavor. Kind of a toasty vibe here too. Good grassy bitter bite in the finish. And while this brewer's beers are often over-carbonated, this one is just right for the style; sits nicely in the mouth, asserting itself with just enough carbonation, also showing a creamy softness at the beginning of the sip.

Hey, nothing to die for, but a good solid IPA that remembers the malt and doesn't get too nuts with the hops. (791 characters)

A hazy (bottle-conditioned) orange-amber body lies beneath a full head of creamy off-white froth that slowly subsides to a thin lid; and although it initially leaves rings of sticky lace, only spotty lacing remains after the head has dropped. The nose is bright and fresh with floral & citrusy hops, and a sweet caramel maltiness. The body is medium and it's very fine, natural carbonation massages the tongue before fading smoothly away. Some spicy hop flavor comes into play along with its delicately floral and lightly citrusy character; and a brisk bitterness balances its caramel drizzled biscuity malt. It finishes drying with some residual sweet malt, spicy hop, and bitterness that lingers in the aftertaste. Well done! (727 characters)

Pours a hazy golden/orange with a small, creamy head. Nice hoppy nose, with a hint of malt evident as well. Tangy, slightly bitter hoppiness that strikes mid-palate with and lingers, rounding into a sharp bitterness on the aftertaste. Lightly fruity, citrusy notes come across in the background, along with a bit of roasted malt. A nice beer. I've had better IPAs, but none better from NC. I'm pretty impressed. (411 characters)

Appearance: It's mostly clear and a golden-amber color. Head was modest. Retention was somewhat short and lacing was light.

Smell: It featured some citrusy sweet aromas (a bit of mango grapefruit). Hops are a bit piney and apparent. Slight caramel-toffee malts are noticeable.

Taste: I was expecting the citrus sweetness to be a bit sweeter than it is. Orange and grapefruit are present, but not very strong. Hops kick in and the bitterness factor is far from what one would like. Though it is bitter enough to be pretty good. A bit malt is present to provide some balance.

Mouthfeel/Drinkability: It definitely leans toward the lighter end of the spectrum. Carbonation and abv are decent. Drinkability is pretty good. I just wish it were a better beer. If that were the case, I'd be happy to session this. Overall, it's okay. Worth a try. (848 characters)

An excellent NC IPA.
The appearance is a coppery orangish golden with a good size head that dissapates within a few minutes of pouring

The smell is an interesting hops smell that reminds me of candied apples

The taste is immediately sweet with a candied apple taste along with fruity diacetly hops and ends in a bitter dry finish. This beer is quite excellent and is an IPA you could analyze for hours. It's definately not balanced in my opinion, but it doesnt really matter for an american IPA. The malt taste really doesnt come though that much but the hops really shine with an interesting complex aroma that is realized in the taste. It really has just the right amount of bitterness so that it could make a quality session brew unlike many other interpretations of the IPA style.
The mouthfeel is thin but slightly creamy. Overall a high quality IPA that can be drank for hours if need be. (903 characters)

Pours a cloudy amber with a finger widths of off-white head that stuck around via a nice creamy retention that left back a lot of sticky lacing. The aroma is very subdued but from what I can pick up seems to be some light pine and citrus accents.

The taste is a big piny hop bite up front that leaves behind an almost astringent hop bitterness that just kind of lays there and sours on the tongue. There seems to be an effort from citrus and malt sweetness to balance things out but it is way too much, too late to save this poor unbalanced SOB. The mouthfeel is thin and watery and does nothing for the flavor but perhaps help it go down a little faster.

Save from the nice retention and lacing of this guy, I ultimately found little to get me excited about this IPA. Unbalanced flavors and a weak body unfortunately make this one I won't be visiting with anytime soon again. (913 characters)

Clear, tawny-coppery hue. Small white head, soapy retention, and some unorganized lace. Very aromatic nose, hoppy! Citrusy some notes of pine, pleasantly raw & leafy. The palate is completely out of balance is that a good thing? Depends the hops triumph piney & citrusy, pleasantly bitter. The malt influence is fleeting actually it might be completely absent. This is very one-dimensional: hoppy. The mouthfeel is a tad thin, lack of malt. The carbonation is ideal, seems too easy to drink and only the harshness of the hops yields the consumption. The finish is dry and leafy yet the aftertaste is devastatingly oily hoppiness. Limited session brew qualities yet very enjoyable.